Mocha Protein Smoothie

Do you guys remember yesterday when I finished up my workout and said I’d probably be feeling it today? Boy, was I right on the mark. YOWZAS! 😯 I started feeling it in the middle of the night when I had to try to move from one side to the other, but when I actually got out of bed — holy moly! My sides, back, glutes, chest, calves — they’re all having a great time reminding me that they’re still here. Don’t get me wrong…I lovea little muscle discomfort when I know I worked hard for it. 😀

Unfortunately, along with all the good muscle soreness, comes some not-so-fun pain in my hips again. I didn’t want to aggravate them any further by running, so I decided on a pleasant power walk this morning. Seeing Tina’s post yesterday reminded me that power walking really does have great benefits, and why bother pushing myself further and risking injury? I walked a brisk 33 minutes @ 4.5mph (about a 13:25 mile, I think?) and it felt great to loosen everything else up a bit. I may try to incorporate a little yoga later…we’ll see. 😉

Breakfast

This morning’s meal was pretty darn amazing. Yes, we were a match made in heaven. I started off with a packet of this:

Blend coffee packet with almond milk. Add in frozen banana, protein powder, vanilla, & sweetener and blend until smooth. Add ice cubes 1 at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Enjoy while feeling like you’re on Cloud 9.

I was quite pleased with the consistency I was able to achieve with today’s smoothie. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I had bought that xanthan gum I was eyeballing at the store yesterday?? I think I’m going to cave and pick some of that up this week. Hey, it’s a sound investment, right?

My belly is pleasantly satisfied right now, and I’m hoping the extra protein will stick with me for most of the morning. We’ll see!

It’s going to be another hot one today – and I’m going to be spending some of it poolside. 😎

Question for the Morning:

Have you ever been guilty of pushing yourself through a workout, even when you know you should take it easy?

Comments

Oh that mocha smoothie sounds fantastic. Yum. I am definitely guilty of pushing through a workout when I shouldn’t. There are times when I think it’s OK and it can be a good thing. But there are those other times when it’s really not smart.

Yes!!! In the fall I was determined to jog my three miles outside everyday regardless of how I was feeling. One day, my ankle started to hurt a little but i kept running and ended up with tendinitis for about a month. Now i listen to my body and give it rest when it needs it. Your morning beverage looked yummy by the way!!!

Oh goodness. That protein smoothie looks so good!! What a great idea adding the via brew to it! Yes, I have pushed myself through a workout. If my body is really sore, it sometimes feels good to get it loosened up…like you did on the treadmill!

“Have you ever been guilty of pushing yourself through a workout, even when you know you should take it easy?” Yes, story of my life! After living a relatively unhealthy sedentary life for my first 23 years, I took the plunge into fitness and had a bad habit of overdoing it. I still do, sometimes, especially when I’m feeling guilty after a week of skipping the gym. It is a constant goal of mine to truly listen to my body.
And that smoothie looks A-MAZIN’!

Holy Cow that looks awesome. I’m so gonna mark this down and make it. I’ve actually heard some good things about the Via, although I haven’t tried it. 😉
Pushing myself too hard, yes….although I do tend to give in when I know I might injure myself. I fear the idea of real injury……yuk.

This looks wonderful! I was wondering if there was something I could substitute in place of the protein. I’m really trying to drop some pounds and am trying to keep on a low calorie diet and am a little nervous to buy something like that. I usually make smoothies with a light yogurt and pack it with fruits and on occasion a handful of spinach…suggestions? I hope to try this out tomorrow!

Well, you still want to make sure that you’re getting some form of protein…that’s an important part! And it honestly doesn’t add all that many calories. If you’re worried, maybe try adding 1/2 a scoop? If no protein powder, try adding a tbsp of cocoa powder, but make sure you still get some protein. Maybe a hard boiled egg on the side?